Twilight Sparkle's Retro Media Library
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Synopsis[]

In a place called Ant Island, there lives a group of ants. Their job is to collect the food for the grasshoppers, but a sort of clumsy ant named Flik accidentally tips the rock under the food, making it all fall down into the water. Upon noticing that their food has disappeared, the grasshoppers show up and warn the ants that they will come back at the end of the last season, when the last leaf falls. And it's all because of Flik. The ants send him away to find circus bugs. As he does so, he invites them to the island. But when they leave, they see a bird's nest, which can only mean one thing -- a snack for one hungry bird. When Flik notices that Hopper's afraid of birds, he and the other ants make a bird out of leaves themselves. Unfortunately, Flik ends up lying to everyone, so he and the circus bugs are ordered to leave and not come back... until they had to because the grasshoppers were coming back to eat everything. When one of the bugs performs the flaming death at the bird made out of leaves, the grasshoppers want to know whose idea it was. They find out that it was Flik. A rainstorm begins, and the grasshoppers run away. Later in spring, all is well again.

Cast[]

Character's name Voiced by
Flik Dave Foley
Hopper Kevin Spacey
Princess Atta Julia Louis-Dreyfus
Dot Hayden Panettiere
The Queen Phyllis Diller
Molt Richard Kind
Slim David Hyde Pierce
Heimlich Joe Ranft
Francis Denis Leary
Manny Jonathan Harris
Gypsy Madeline Kahn
Rosie Bonnie Hunt
Tuck and Roll Mike McShane
P.T. Flea John Ratzanberger
Dim Brad Garrett
Dr. Flora Edie McClurg
Thorny Alex Rocco
Cornelius David Ossman

Production timeline[]

  • June 1995: The film was pitched to Michael Eisner
  • July 5, 1995: The treatment was sent to Disney under the title "Bugs"
  • July 7, 1995: Disney approved the treatment and notified that it was exercising the option on a second film.
  • January 1996: The storyboards are pitched to Disney
  • February 24, 1997: A working title of "Bugs" was announced for the film.
  • October 1, 1997: The film's official release date announced, and a new theatrical trailer posted online and presented on television.

In Other Languages[]

Language Title
Spanish Bichos: Una Aventura en Miniatura
Portuguese Vida de Inseto
Japanese バグズ・ライフ
Chinese 蟲蟲特工隊
Korean 벅스 라이프
Thai ตัวบั๊กส์ หัวใจไม่บั๊กส์

Release timeline[]

Format Country of origin Date
Teaser trailer USA November 14, 1997
Theatrical trailer #1 USA June 19, 1998[1][2]
Theatrical trailer #2 USA September 18, 1998
Original theatrical USA November 25, 1998[3]
Original theatrical (with different outtakes) USA December 18, 1998
VHS/DVD USA April 20, 1999
VHS (Spanish dub) USA May 18, 1999
VHS/DVD Australia September 28, 1999
VHS UK October 1, 1999
VHS Brazil October 10, 1999
DVD Taiwan October 28, 1999
VHS/DVD Japan October 29, 1999
VHS France November 10, 1999
VHS (with Toy Story) UK November 19, 1999
VHS South Korea November 22, 1999
DVD (Collector's Edition) USA November 23, 1999
DVD Latin America 2000
DVD South Korea June 9, 2000
VHS/DVD (re-release) USA August 1, 2000
DVD UK January 8, 2001
DVD France July 26, 2001
DVD (Collector's Edition) South Korea April 10, 2002
DVD (Collector's Edition) UK September 9, 2002
DVD (Collector's Edition) Japan September 20, 2002
DVD (Collector's Edition) France November 27, 2002
DVD (Collector's Edition; re-release) USA May 27, 2003
Blu-ray Disc USA May 19, 2009
Digital Download USA May 19, 2009
Blu-ray Disc UK December 6, 2010
Blu-ray Disc Japan July 6, 2011
Digital HD USA October 1, 2012
Disney+ USA November 12, 2019

A Bug's Life grossed $163 million domestically and $362 million worldwide, making it the highest grossing animated film of 1998. This is about $240 million domestically and $540 million worldwide by today's standards.

Home video timeline[]

Main article: Home video timeline for A Bug's Life

Availability on Disney+[]

Audio Subtitles
Chinese (中文/简体) Y Y
Chinese (中文/繁體) Y Y
Chinese (粵語) Y Y
Dansk Y Y
Deutsch Y Y
English Y Y
Español Y Y
Español (Latinoamérica) Y Y
Français Y Y
Français (Canada) R Y
Italiano Y Y
Magyar Y Y
Nederlands Y Y
Norsk Y Y
Polski Y Y
Português Y Y
Português (Brasil) R R
Română Y Y
Slovenčina Y Y
Suomi Y Y
Svenska Y Y
Türkçe Y Y
Íslenska Y Y
Čeština Y Y
Ελληνικά Y Y
Japanese Y R
Korean Y Y

This film was also dubbed in Flemish.

Gallery[]

Main article: A Bug's Life/Gallery

Rankings[]

Rank of worldwide release 41
Rank of release in North America 40
Rank of release on VHS worldwide 41
Rank of release on VHS in North America 39
Rank of release on DVD worldwide 4
Rank of release on DVD in North America 3
Rank of release on Blu-ray and/or Digital HD worldwide 22
Rank of release on Blu-ray and/or Digital HD in North America 22

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